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One Pan Herb Brown Butter Chicken and Zucchini Rice Pilaf, my family’s favorite type of dish. Chicken breasts or thighs seasoned with olive oil, parmesan, garlic, thyme, rosemary, paprika, and cayenne. All tossed together with jasmine rice pilaf made with orzo and shredded zucchini. This herb butter chicken and rice pilaf is all made in one pan. No cooking the rice pilaf separately. You’re going to LOVE this. Serve each plate of chicken and rice pilaf with a drizzle of sage brown butter. YUM!
Ok, yes I know, more chicken and rice. But hear me out, my family lives off of this style of meal. But today’s recipe is even more special than others I’ve previously shared. This one takes me back to my middle school days when mom would do roasted chicken with a store-bought seasoning blend and that yummy box of chicken-flavored rice pilaf. She’d maybe add a vegetable side like broccoli, but honestly, I don’t really remember that.
Mom pretty much stuck to chicken and rice. She was/is basic, but she knows what’s good. Plenty of butter was always her secret. So she taught me well and we love her even more for that.
Per usual this time of year, I start to crave those cozy, homestyle recipes we’d all enjoy as kids. The ones our mom would cook up on Sunday nights. They made the whole house smell like a cozy roasted chicken dinner.
This is pretty much the herby, buttery roasted chicken and rice dinner we all love and crave. But this one is made in one pan and with very little effort. But the taste is so delicious.
Some details
Step 1: season the chicken
Start with the chicken. Toss it together with olive oil and parmesan. Add dried thyme, rosemary, smoked paprika, cayenne, and then make sure to season well with salt and pepper.
If you have fresh thyme and rosemary in your garden, definitely use those. I recommend about two tablespoons of fresh thyme and 1 scant tablespoon of fresh rosemary.
Step 2: make the zucchini rice pilaf.
Now the rice pilaf, which is my favorite. A mix of rice and pasta, then I also like to add summer zucchini and warming sage.
Get a 9×13 inch baking dish, add the dry rice, dry orzo pasta, an onion (optional), and 1-2 grated zucchini. Pour chicken or chicken bone broth overtop, and then use some fresh sage too. The broth will cook the rice in the oven.
Place the chicken directly over the rice pilaf, add a couple of pats of butter, and set the pan in the oven to cook. The rice will get fluffy and the chicken will become crispy!
I don’t even cover the pan or anything. This cooks up beautifully in just about 30 minutes. However, the timing will depend on the size of your chicken pieces and the size of your baking dish.
Step 3: make the sage brown butter
This is “extra” and while you don’t need it, it makes every bite of this dish yummier. So I of course recommend it. It’s salted butter cooked on the stove with whole leaves of sage.
It’s warming, and rich, so very delicious when spooned over the chicken and rice pilaf. You will really enjoy it.
Step 4: serve
Now that that chicken is cooked and the butter browned, simply plate and enjoy! Serve the chicken overtop a bowl of rice pilaf. Then spoon that golden sage brown butter over each bowl. A little sea salt is always nice too.
I absolutely could not love this recipe more and I know it’s a recipe that I’ll be coming back to time and time again. Perfect dinner to make for family and friends as we head into September and the cozy months beyond.
Looking for other crockpot meals? Here are a few ideas:
Crockpot Herb Butter Chicken and Wild Rice
Creamy White Bean Noodle Soup with Rosemary Bacon.
Mustard Herb Chicken and Creamy Orzo
Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Ranch
Slow Cooker Saucy Sunday Bolognese Pasta
Crockpot Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Bolognese
One Pan Chipotle Honey Chicken and Rice
One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice
Lastly, if you make this One Pan Herb Butter Chicken and Zucchini Rice Pilaf, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
One Pan Herb Butter Chicken and Zucchini Rice Pilaf
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 583 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6 boneless chicken thighs or breasts (skin on or off)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan, plus parmesan rind
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 cup dry white jasmine rice
- 3/4 cup dry orzo pasta
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup grated zucchini
- 1 tablespoon chopped sage, plus 8 sage leaves
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400°.2. In a bowl, toss together the chicken, olive oil, parmesan, garlic, thyme, rosemary, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper.3. Pour the rice, orzo, onion, zucchini, and chopped sage into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Pour over 2 cups broth. Add 2 tablespoons butter. Arrange the chicken over the rice and zucchini. Add the parmesan rind, if using. Bake 30-40 minutes, until the rice is fluffy and the chicken is cooked through. If the rice is hard, add 1/3 cup water and cook for an additional 10 minutes.4. Just before serving, melt together the 2 tablespoons butter and sage leaves in a skillet set over medium heat. Cook until the butter is browning and the sage is crisp, 4 minutes. 5. Severe the chicken and rice topped with sage butter. And enjoy!
This recipe turned out SO GOOD! Made it just as the recipe called for and it turned out great! Thanks for the yummy recipe!
Thank you for giving this recipe a try! I really hope you loved it 🙂 xT
Made this tonight with yellow squash from the garden I worried about – looked overgrown. Peeled and seeded it and used it in the recipe. Cooked everything as the recipe called for and needed no alterations. It was a great “prep ahead” meal to come home and pop in the oven after a long day today. Thank you!
Thanks so so much for trying out this recipe! Have a lovely day! xT
Hi! Should you wring out the zucchini a bit before adding it or do you need all that juice to cook the rice?
Hi there!I don’t ring it out at all! xT
Is there a way to freeze this?
Hey there! I haven’t ever frozen this before so I can’t say! xT
It’s yummy and perfect for zucchini season. But it took more like 50-60 mins to cook to get the rice and chicken to cook. I used 3 large chix breasts cut in half width-wise and otherwise followed the recipe as written. After 40 mins I covered the dish to get everything to cook. Will try again. Will also maybe skip the extra butter and fried sage.
Thank you for the feedback Dena! I appreciate it! xT
Love this recipe. It’s a great meal to change up dinner during the week. Easy and turns out great every time we have made it. Followed the recipe exactly as written
Thank you so so much for giving this recipe a try! Hope you’re having a lovely week! xT
So easy to make, but couldn’t quite get the rice pilaf to cook right following the instructions and the chicken was going to dry out if I left it in any longer.
Hi there! So sorry about that! Thanks for letting me know! xT
This one was out of the park! Amazing! I loved the sage and I made the sage butter to accompany the one pan- wow the chicken thighs were seasoned perfectly and it felt like a warm hug! What a delicious dinner that you can make ahead and pop in oven a few hours later. It was just fall one pan perfection. This will definitely be made for years to come. Thanks Tieghan.
Yayyy! Love to hear this! Thanks so much! 🙂
Delicious! Made for group while visiting their cottage. Easy and enjoyed by everyone.
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! Have an awesome weekend! xT
Made this last night, the flavor of the rice/orzo is incredible! We cooked the onion and zucchini for a bit before and added extra parmesan at the end. Thank you!!
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Have a great day! xT
This was delicious!! Had it for dinner tonight. Everyone loved it….even my hubby who would have said he doesn’t like sage, rosemary, zucchini, or casseroles. He loved it so much he stood up and went to the other room to give my daughter (who put it together while we were at a game) a thumbs up. Excellent dish. Will be a go to!!
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Have a great day! xT
Made this tonight. It was delicious!
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Have a great day! xT
Just made this tonight, trying to usher in Fall!
It was good; the rice mixture could use salt – I used stock that was unsalted, but if we make it again I’d probably just use a salted version. I’m not sure if it was the intention to use a salted style bullion, but I could definitely understand if it was and I just missed the sublety.
Mostly, it was quite rich. I wouldn’t serve this again as a stand alone/ one pan style dinner, asit definitely calls for a bright veggie or salad accompaniment for balance. But it was very enjoyable! Good flavors, and not too much spice for the kiddos.
Hey Heather! Thank you for the feedback! I appreciate it! xT
Hey!I’m looking to substitute the orzo as I can’t have gluten. Could I use more rice? If so, do you know what to adjust the liquids to (if need be)? Thanks!
Hi Sarah! Yes, you definitely can add a bit more rice! I would maybe just add a bit more liquid! xT
Delicious and easy! Both my kids (ages 3 and 6) had two servings!
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! I’m SO glad you enjoyed it! xT